Safe
by Linkin41
Summary: Wearing only his underwear, he opened the door prepared to chew out whoever was waking him up. However, when he saw who stood outside his door, any angry thoughts he had disappeared. "Annie?"


_I do not own Community nor it's characters, just merely a fan._

Jeff was sound asleep, wrapped up in his sheets when he heard a knock on the door. He squinted his eyes toward the clock, 2 am. The knock came again. He pushed himself out of his bed, grumbling. Wearing only his underwear, he opened the door prepared to chew out whoever was waking him up. However, when he saw who stood outside his door, any angry thoughts he had disappeared.

"Annie?"

She stood in her pajamas, fluffy pajama pants and a long shirt, looking up at him. His eyes softened, she looked scared out of her mind.

"I'll explain," Annie said, sounding on edge, "just...I want to go inside."

Jeff nodded, stepping aside to let Annie in. After he shut the door, he was surprised by Annie wrapping her arms around him.

"Annie, what's going on," Jeff asked, concerned and unsure of what to do.

"The police said I had to go somewhere safe," Annie said, letting go of him, "I had them drop me off here."

Jeff was suddenly awake, "Go have a seat on the couch. Do you want anything to drink?"

Annie shook her head.

"I'll be with you in a minute," Jeff said, going off into his bedroom.

She took a seat on his couch, toying with the bottom of her shirt. Jeff emerged a few minutes later, wearing an old shirt and sweat pants.

He plopped himself down on the couch, "What happened?"

Annie took a deep breath, "My apartment got broken into. He managed to break through all my locks and get inside. He was going to rob me."

Jeff moved closer, putting an arm around her, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Annie was quiet for a moment, "He had a knife. When he saw that I was awake, he attacked me."

Annie moved away from Jeff and lifted the bottom of her shirt, showing him the four gashes across her torso.

"They look bad, but they aren't lethal," Annie said, "the paramedics treated them.

Jeff felt a mixture of sadness and boiling anger as he reached out and lightly touched the wounds. When Jeff pulled his hand back, she dropped her shirt back down.

"I fought him off eventually," Annie said, "my karate lessons finally came in handy."

"Did they catch him," Jeff asked, pulling Annie closer to him.

"He ran off before the cops showed up," Annie said, "the neighbors called them. They must have heard the commotion."

Jeff clenched his fist. If he could, he would go hunt down the bastard himself. He couldn't though, he had to be here for her.

"I picked your place to go to because it's the farthest away from my apartment," Annie said.

Jeff nodded, "You picked the right place."

He placed a light kiss on the top of her head.

"You're safe here."

They fell into a comfortable silence, Annie resting her head on Jeff's shoulder. He played with her hair absentmindedly for a few minutes before realizing that Annie had fallen asleep. He carefully scooped her up in his arms and took her into the bedroom. He gently laid her down on the bed and covered her with one of his sheets. He debated for a moment whether or not to sleep on the couch.

He sighed, the last thing Annie needs is to be alone again. He laid down on the other side of her, putting a protective arm around her before he too fell asleep.

Jeff opened his eyes later that morning, glancing at the clock. 11 am. Annie was still in bed next to him, sleeping soundly. Well, she was until she woke up in a state of panic.

"Ssh, ssh, Annie it's okay," Jeff said, pulling her close, "you're in my apartment. You're safe."

She started relaxing, her breath evening out. She turned over to face him, burying her face in his chest.

"I just had a nightmare that the guy broke in here and tried to finish me off," Annie said, "he stabbed you multiple times! He killed you!"

If he ever found the guy, he would strangle him with his bare hands.

"It was just a dream, Annie," Jeff assured her, "I'm alive and so are you."

In the morning light, he finally had a good look at Annie's state. Her shirt was stained with dried blood. Her arms had nicks here and there, probably from defending herself. His heart sank into his chest when he saw a bruise on her cheek. He gently ran his fingers over it.

"You didn't tell me the bastard hit you," Jeff said.

"When I struck the knife out of his hand, he punched me as a last resort before running off," Annie said.

Screw strangling the guy, Jeff planned on beating him to a bloody pulp.

Annie looked up at him, "I didn't just pick your place because you're the furthest away."

Jeff's eyes went to hers.

"I picked your place because…," Annie trailed off.

"Because you knew I would protect you," Jeff finished.

Annie nodded, "You're very protective of me."

"That's because I care about you," Jeff said, "you're special to me, you know."

"You're special to me too," Annie said.

They looked at each other for another moment before Jeff's lips were suddenly on hers. As they were kissing, Jeff's hand slipped underneath Annie's shirt, his fingers going roughly over her wounds as his hand went up. She pulled away, hissing in pain.

Jeff's eyes widened, pulling his hand from underneath her shirt, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Annie said, "they're still a little tender."

She glanced down at her shirt, frowning at the stains, "I wish I brought a change of clothes."

"I can swing by your apartment if you want," Jeff offered.

Annie shook her head, "You don't have to do that."

Jeff sighed, he knew she didn't want to be left here alone.

"How about we both go then," Jeff said, "I'll be there the entire time and if any one thinks of attacking you, they'll have to get through me first."

Annie smiled, "We can go later. I just want to lay here."

Jeff nodded, "Okay. We can do that too."

They settled back on his bed, Jeff's arm going back around her waist. She wrapped an arm around his chest, snuggling into him. They remained like that for the next few hours, talking about the study group, movies, and whether Mark Ruffalo would be a better Hulk over Edward Norton.


End file.
